LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, Google, or subscribe to the RSS.
On the 4th July 1837, Britain’s first trunk railway opened.
The Grand Junction Railway linked Liverpool and Manchester with Birmingham, and paved the way for all 3 to be connected to the capital by rail when the London & Birmingham line was fully opened a year later.
The Grand Junction also launched the national reputation of Joseph Locke, and led to yet another falling out with George Stephenson.
Oddly, the GJR doesn’t get a lot of attention in history books, so today’s episode dives into the story of the beginning of that railway, and the fight for control between two titans of early railway history, to see what we’ve been missing.
Show notes
- 01:59 Last episode’s trivia answer
- 02:45 Intro
- 04:20 Getting their Act together
- 08:42 The new railway gets a name
- 10:02 The Warrington & Newton Railway
- 12:29 Joseph Locke and George Stephenson initial friction
- 18:02 Buying the Warrington & Newton Railway
- 21:45 Solving their Engineer problem
- 27:21 Locke appointed Chief Engineer
- 29:10 Trivia question
Research and Reading List
These are some of the books and websites I used for research for this episode. Many are free resources on the internet, some you can buy for yourself … if you do fancy any of them, then buying them through these links is a great way to support the show at no extra cost to you *.
The Evolution of the Steam Locomotive, 1803 to 1898 – G.A. Sekon (Nokes), 1899
The British steam railway locomotive, 1825-1925 – E.L. Ahrons, 1927
Railway Carriages in the British Isles, 1830-1914 – C. Hamilton Ellis, 1965
And finally, a non-reading related resource, that’s worth a look: The Cambridge University Population studies group have an animated map that shows the evolving state of lines covering Britain from the early 1800s all the way up to the 2000’s – check it out here.
Images
George Stephenson (1781 – 1848)
This Episode’s Trivia Question
What is the highest railway bridge in the world?
(Note: “highest” not “tallest”.)
Chenab railway bridge in Kashmir, is currently (June 2023) the highest railway bridge. An arch bridge, standing 359 metres above the river bed.
The railway isn’t up and running yet, but the rails were finished in March this year. The highest operational railway bridge is Najiehe in China, at 305m
* I use affiliate links to help support the podcast. If you buy through these links then you pay exactly the same price, and I earn a (very!) small commission.
Leave a Reply